I have over the years listened to many Christians make statements such as, “something spoke to me” “I felt something”, and I have always wondered what they meant by “something”. For many Christians they find it difficult to comprehend the truth of the Holy Spirit living in them, not to mention the Holy Spirit speaking to them.
Margaret Thatcher the former British Prime minister was credited with this quote, “When Christians..... take counsel together their purpose should not be to ascertain what is the mind of the majority, but what is the mind of the Holy Spirit- something which may be quite different”. Margaret Thatcher in making this statement touched on something quite unique about the Holy Spirit. She has with one word given personality to the Holy spirit “the mind of the Holy Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit is not a thing, He is a person, and He is the third person of the trinity. Jesus in the gospel of John refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter and the Counsellor and was very distinctive in His description of the Holy Spirit as “HE”. In John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Here in this verse we see Jesus use the masculine gender thrice in His reference to the Holy Spirit. Again we see in John 14:26 Jesus continues to give personality to the Holy Spirit; “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. As we go on to John 16:13 to 15 Jesus clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us, He will speak to us, He will take that which is Jesus' and will declare it to us, and will glorify Jesus.
The New Testament continuously referred to the Holy Spirit as “Him” and not “it”. The new Testament also reveals that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, can be resisted, can hear, can speak, helps, convicts, commands, declares, teaches, forbids, opposes, desires and gives speech. If the Holy Spirit was without personhood the Bible will not describe him as one who makes intercession for the saints. He will not be described as a helper or even a person that can be lied to, Acts 5:3 "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
The Holy Spirit is both a person and fully divine, hence Jesus says in the book of John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever"; Just because you do not see Him in the physical does not mean He is not with you. He is with you and abides in and with you if you have a living relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus.
When next you have that God inspired prompting in your heart, acknowledge the Holy Spirit and respond to Him, speak to Him, He is your friend and like Benny Hinn and Yongi Cho, He is your senior partner.
